Birmingham Shared Lives

Updated 24 September 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Birmingham Shared Lives is a shared lives scheme, they recruit, train and support self-employed shared lives carers (SLC) who offer accommodation and support arrangements for vulnerable adults within their own family homes in the community.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection and people using the service and carers would be able to speak with us, either in person or on the telephone.

Inspection activity started on 15 August 2019 and ended on 23 August 2019. We visited the office location on 15 August 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

During our office visit we spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and three shared lives workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, recruitment of carers and training arrangements were viewed.

Following our office visit we met with two people and their carer in their own home and spoke with two people at their day centre. We also spoke on the telephone with two people, three relatives and three carers.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and the assessment process for a person new to the service.

Updated 24 September 2019

About the service

Birmingham Shared Lives is a shared lives scheme which provides people with long-term placements, short breaks and respite care, within shared lives carers (SLC) own homes. There were 67 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they were happy living with their carer and being part of a family. People told us they felt safe living with their carer. Shared lives workers and carers knew how to recognise signs of abuse or harm and what action they needed to take to keep people safe. Effective risk assessments and management plans ensured people were supported to manage risks in their daily lives.

Prospective carers were approved by an independent panel to ensure recruitment systems were robust. There was a lengthy 'matching' process which ensured people were placed with carers that had the skills to meet their needs. There were enough staff and carers to run the scheme although recruitment of further carers was underway as the provider had intentions to expand the scheme.

Carers had the support they needed to care for people. They were provided with ongoing and regular support from shared lives workers. Workers and carers had received regular training and had the skills to support the people they cared for.

People were supported to have their mental and physical healthcare needs met. Shared lives workers and carers sought and took advice from relevant health professionals when needed. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent. People told us that they were supported to be independent and to take part in their chosen hobbies and interests that they enjoyed.

People's privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. People had been involved in the assessment of their care and decisions about their support needs and where they should live. People's independence was promoted.

The service was well led. Regular monitoring and auditing of care records and practice helped to maintain the quality and values of the service people received. Feedback from people, carers and shared lives workers was requested to help improve the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 31 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: The next scheduled inspection will be in keeping with the overall rating. We will continue to monitor information we receive from and about the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive concerning information about the service.